A stitch in time
by KyrieEleisonElise
Summary: Chiriko Asano is Gakushu's twin and the Chairman's estranged daughter, and she couldn't be further away from his educational ideals; She's loud, brash, caring, and worst of all, she gets low grades. So it was no surprise when he shipped the family failure off to E class. Will Chiriko be better at being an assassin than she is at being a student?
1. Chapter 1

**This first chapter is the prologue, and set in second year, but most of the story will be in third year. It's pretty depressing, but I promise the rest of the story wont be like that.**

* * *

Chiriko Asano followed her father and brother into the house, that seemed to large yet so empty. It was like a completely different world compared to the small but homely apartment she'd shared with her mother, back when mother was alive. The listless grey walls, and dull rooms looked so cold and impersonal to her, Chiriko felt as if she was going to burst into another fit of tears, but she really didn't want to, because she knew it would make her father annoyed and her brother uncomfortable.

"Your room is the second floor on the left. It is yours to decorate how you please. But I do not tolerate untidiness in this house." Her father said, his voice devoid of any emotion. He wore the same neutral expression he had the whole time throughout his ex-wife's funeral. Chiriko couldn't believe this was the same man who used to take her and her brother on walks around the park, and taught them to ride bikes and play piano. "I have work to do. Ask Asano- _kun_ if you need any assistance with your bags. You will attend your new school on Monday."

With that, the man turned and walked away to his office, as if he were completely unconcerned that the daughter he hadn't seen in seven years was now living with him, as if he didn't care that his children had just been to their own mother's funeral. Chiriko didn't know what she expected; A hug maybe? or some words of reassurance? Instead she was left standing in the hallway, feeling abandoned. She felt tears sting her eyes.

 _Oh great, now I'm going to cry again._

"I'll take the heavier bags, you just carry the lighter ones." Gakushuu said, breaking Chiriko out of her thoughts. He was probably worried she was going to cry again, every time she had started sobbing at the funeral, he had looked on edge, and awkwardly offer her a tissue.

"T-Thank you." Chiriko replied, not trusting herself to say any more than that. The boy before her looked like a stranger to her. The brother she remembered was Shu- _chan,_ six years old, always smiling, practically identical to her. But after eight years of not seeing each other, Gakushuu had grown a lot. Now he was _Asano,_ a handsome teenage boy who was taller than her, who seemed almost as cold as their father. They only thing they had in common was their eye and hair colour.

"Since we'll be living together, and going to the same school, I'll be happy to show you the ropes and give you any help you feel you need." Gakushuu said to her, but he didn't sound helpful, he sounded as if he were saying it out of obligation. His tone was too polite, too indifferent. Chiriko sighed. This didn't feel like living with family at all.

* * *

If Chiriko thought back far enough, she could remember a time when all the Asano's had been a family. Daddy was a teacher at a cram school, he didn't make a lot of money from it, but that didn't matter because he loved his job (plus he made a fortune doing grown-up business stuff like investments), and Mummy stayed at home and wrote books. It would be hard for her to get a normal job, because she was from America, so her Japanese wasn't exactly perfect, but Mummy didn't care anyway, because she always said she'd rather write than work in some boring office.

Growing up like that seemed to pass by like one happy blur; Family outings, starting school, playing with Shuu and the other kids in the street. Chiriko and Gakushuu were always together, they looked so identical, that if they wore the same clothes nobody could tell them apart.

But all of a sudden, out of nowhere, everything changed. It happened on a day like any other; Gakushuu and Chiriko, aged four, were sat playing together with their toys when they heard the door go.

"Daddy!" The twins both jumped up to greet him. Their father had come home late today because he was visiting an old student of his, Ikeda. Instead of leaning down and scooping the siblings up like he usually did, their father just pushed past them with a dark expression on his face, ignoring their cries for attention.

"What's wrong, Daddy?" Chiriko asked, looking at her father confused. He'd never ignored them like that before.

"Did we do something wrong?" Gakushuu questioned, looking a little hurt. Their father just looked at the two of them with cold violet eyes, that sent a shiver up Chiriko's spine, and made her feel scared of her father for the first time in her life. Gakushuu took her hand, so she could tell he was feeling the same.

"Just leave me alone. Please." Their father said. He sounded as if he were straining to keep his voice even, as if he were trying not to shout. He walked upstairs without another word, leaving behind the twins who shared a confused and upset look.

Later that night, when the twins were in their beds, Mummy came to tuck them in.

"Were's Daddy?" Chiriko asked, since normally both parents tucked them in together.

"Is he mad at us? Did we do something wrong?" Gakushuu asked, looking worried. Their mother's expression softened. She looked sad for some reason.

"No, sweetie, he's not mad at you two." Mummy said, sitting on the edge of the bed. It looked as if she'd been crying. "Something sad happened to him. So he might be a bit off for a little while. But we all have to be there for him, and give him space when he needs it. Can you do that?"

The twins both nodded- They'd both do anything for their father.

Being _a bit off_ for a little while turned into their Father acting like a completely different person for days, then weeks, and then months.

For the first few days he stayed in his room, not even mother's best cooking or the twins sparkly ' _Feel better soon'_ cards could coax him out. Then, out of nowhere, he decided to close down his cram school a few weeks later.

"But I thought it was doing really well, and you really loved it!" Chiriko had protested. Her father gave her a cold look.

"That establishment was just a representation of my weaknesses and failures as an educator. If I want a truly successful school that raises truly successful students, I will have to first have to learn to be come strong myself, and then start again from scratch." Father had replied. He used big words that Chiriko and Gakushuu didn't quite understand. He had been doing that a lot lately, when he wasn't ignoring them.

After that, their father wasn't home often. He was always away 'learning the meaning of strength'. Chiriko didn't understand, because she thought her father was amazing, and already the strongest Dad in the whole street, and Gakushuu agreed, and he was the smartest kid she knew. Him being away all the time made Mummy sad too, even though she pretended to smile. The twins could often see tear-stains down her face. Her and Daddy were arguing more and more. They had a big argument after he missed the twin's birthday, and new years eve (Which were on the same date, basically). No ammount of birthday cake and presents could make Gakushuu and Chiriko any less dissapointed.

"I wish Daddy would stop being off. He hasn't played with us in weeks." Chiriko complained to Gakushuu one time when they were riding their bikes up and down the streets. Gakushuu scowled.

"I don't think he likes us any more. And I don't like him any more!" He huffed. But Chiriko knew the latter part wasn't true because Gakushuu was always after their fathers attention.

Then, all of a sudden, their father went from ignoring the twins, to becoming very interested in them. But he didn't play any more. He wanted to know their height, and their weight. He kept gave them lots of tests on paper with numbers and big words, and measured how fast they could run. It was hard and boring, but both of them were just glad Dad was paying attention to them again.

"These results are very disappointing." Father told them, when they completed their tests. He had them sit opposite him in his office, like they were school children being chastised by their head master. "Gakushuu, your academic results are only that of a first grader, and Chiriko, you are below even that. And both of you had poorer physical results than a child in the first grade. In short, you are both failures."

The twins both flinched at the harsh words.

"That's because we're not in the first grade yet!" Chiriko complained, annoyed she had spent all day doing boring tests just to get told off.

"That is irrelevant." The Chairman said, using another big word the five year old twins didn't understand. "You are my children. I expect you to be better than the rest. You _must_ be better than the rest if you wish to do well in life. More than that. You must be the best."

"We can't be the best at _everything_!" Gakushuu frowned.

"Not unless you work at it." Their father said, leaning back in his seat and crossing his fingers. " I have devised a regime to ensure you fulfill your maximum potential."

After that, the twins care-free life was filled with cram-school, and extra sports clubs, and music lessons, and tutors. There was no time to play any more. Everything was _work work work._ And nobody was happy. Their mother and father argued even more about the children's upbringing.

 _"For heaven's sake! They're children! You're pushing them too hard! You are ruining their childhood."_

 _"You are the one ruining their potential by coddling them, and stifling them."_

Chiriko started getting in lots of arguments with father too, for bunking off from her lessons and running away from her tutors. It wasn't her fault they were all so boring and she wanted to play! Besides. She didn't run away from _all_ of them, just the really nasty tutors who yelled at her every time she made a mistake. Her father gave her countless lectures on how she was going to become a failure, but Chiriko was too annoyed to listen most of the time.

Even Chiriko and Gakushuu had started arguing. He always did whatever father said, never bunking off from his insane scheduled to play with his sister like they used to, even though Chiriko knew he was bored and tired.

 _"Why wont you skip just once, and we can go play by the lake like we used to?"_

 _"Because I hate it when Father calls me a failure so much! I have to prove him wrong and show him he's an idiot for ever thinking I'm weak!"_

It carried on like that for another year; Their father opened a middle-school and a high-school, the twins entered first grade, and their mother filed for divorce.

Chiriko wasn't exactly sure how the divorce proceedings went- She was too young to understand such things. But at the end of the process, her mother won custody of her, and her father won custody of Gakushuu.

The twins were distraught when they were told they had to move away from one another. They even attempted to run away together, but that wasn't very successful.

The day Chiriko had to move out was the worst. Her father and Gakushuu stood by the door to see them off. Daddy had a tight grip on her brother's shoulders, as if he were afraid he was going to try and leave with them. Gakushuu kept looking as if he were going to cry, but their father tightened his grip on his shoulders every time he sniffed.

Chiriko ran over and hugged her brother. "Why can't Gakushuu come with us?" She asked for about the hundredth time. Gakushuu hugged her back, tight as if he didn't want to let her go.

"Because your mother is intent on tearing this family apart by divorcing me." Their father said, his voiced laced with a cold malice.

"Gakuhou! Please!" Their mother shouted at him. She knelt down next to Gakushuu and Chiriko, pulling the two into a hug. "I love you both so much."

"Then why are you leaving me behind?" Gakushuu whimpered. Chiriko could feel her mother crying.

"I promise, I'm not. Not forever. I just need to go through some more court-proceedings, and I'll be able to look after you too." Their mother sobbed. Their father scoffed.

"Well. We'll see." He said, a cold smile on his face, he looked completely untouched by the scene before him. "Now hurry up and leave before I call the police to have them escort you off my property."

"I can't believe you. You monster." Their mother hissed, taking Chiriko's hand and standing up. "And if you dare hurt my son, I will hurt you even worse!"

"The only thing I want for Gakushuu is for him to be strong." Their father bit back, as their mother was already tugging Chiriko to the car. In that moment, the twins eyes met, and at the same instant, both of them tried to escape their parents and run to each other, but their parents both held them back.

"No! Chiriko don't go!" Gakushuu shouted, trying to escape his father's grasp. Chiriko tried to get to him, as her mother pulled her into the car, crying.

"We can't leave Gakushuu behind! Mummy! Please!"

But in the end, they were just kids, who had no say in their future.

Chiriko was sure that Mummy meant it when she said she was going to fight the courts in order to get custody of Gakushuu, but not long after they moved out, she started to get sick, and all of the measly money they had went on rent and medical bills. They didn't have money like they used to, but Chiriko was happy. She still missed Gakushuu and even Daddy a lot, but it lessened over time, and the raw pain became a dull ache.

Living with her mother was happy, nothing like the hellish life before, were her father forced her to do work all time. Chiriko quickly made friends at her new school. She spent time hanging out with them, and doing fun things with with Mum. She started getting good at cooking, and doing housework, because sometimes Mum got to ill to do it.

By the time Chiriko was thirteen, she was regularly taking time of school to look after her mother. She didn't have the best grades, but she was mature beyond her years, if a little bossy, and was always looking after others. Her friends jokingly called her the 'mother' of the group.

That all changed when all of a sudden, her mother became seriously ill. All at once, Chiriko's whole happy life seemed to shatter. And now she was back living at the very house she had thought she had escaped.

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 **Review if I should write more!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2 which basically covers Chiriko's first year in Kunugigaoka..!**

 **Thank you so much for all the reviews, sorry I haven't replied to them yet, but this site was being a spaz and not showing them.**

 **Please review for more and let me know if you have any story ideas.**

* * *

That second year of middle school flew by quickly for Chiriko; She felt like she was five years old again, being forced to attend a multitude of cram schools and extra-curricular activities, (As if just plain old school work wasn't bad enough!) except now it was even worse than before, because Mummy was gone, Gakushuu was like a stranger to her, and she was too big to hide in the back of the closet like she used to when she wanted to run away from the work load her father placed on her.

The Chairman was constantly disapproving of her.

"Asano- _san,_ you have one of the lowest scores in the entire school. Grades dictate your worth. Do you enjoy being worthless?"

"Asano- _san,_ you have skipped cram school for the entire week. It's almost as if you're aiming to be a failure."

Chiriko would just pretend the words didn't bother her (Although they did make her cringe). She had better things to do than to devote her life to grades and academics; She had started volunteering at an old people's home. That was much more useful than memorizing equations, in her opinion.

Chiriko's relationship with Gakushuu was strained too- for the first two weeks, he was coldly polite to her, but he became increasingly frustrated the more obvious it became that his sister clearly wasn't interested in school, or academics or reputation. Chiriko did try to pay attention when he tutored her, she promises! But it's so hard to listen to algebra, when Chiriko was pretty sure finding X in a complicated equation had no relevance to real life. Plus, the fact she knew her brother was only trying to help her to improve his own reputation dampened her motivation.

"I don't understand why you insist on being difficult. You aren't incompetent. I know you could do this if you actually tried." Gakushuu had hissed at her, when they were sat in his room one day, reviewing maths. Chiriko rocked back on the chair.

"I _am_ trying." Chiriko insisted, although maybe that wasn't entirely true. Her and Gakushuu bickered a lot. He didn't like her attitude to learning, and she didn't like _his_ elitist attitude towards anyone considered below him. (Although she did worry about him. For all her arguing, she was always the one who cooked him food when he was so busy with work he didn't have time to eat).

* * *

Kunugigaoka had to be the single most worst school on the planet, Chiroko decided. Sure, it looked posh and fancy (especially compared to the old school) but the system of throwing the 'undesirable' students into a purgatory called E class was just barbaric in Chiriko's opinion. Most of the people there were all like mini-businessmen, completely self-abosrobed, obsessed with work and reputation, completely elitist.

The day she first arrived there, she felt stricken with nerves, but everyone in the A class was incredibly nice to her.

 _"We hope you feel welcome here!"_

 _"We're honored to have Asano-kun's sister as a classmate!"_

 _"You're so beautiful! But I guess that's to be expected of Asano's sister."_

It didn't take Chiriko long, however, to realize most of the niceness was fake. The only reason they didn't bully her when her grades took a nose-dive was because of who her brother was. They treated Gakushuu like a celebrity in the school, even the third years seemed to practically worship him. He had people wrapped around his finger. Realizing that people didn't really like her made her feel incredibly isolated. She longed for her own school, even if it was poor and a little rough, the people there were genuine.

* * *

It took Chiriko a while to find any proper friends, she ended up hanging around with a group of delinquents- Terasaka, Murmatsu and Yoshida and their female friend Hazama. They were jerks, but they were honest people. She started making lunch for them because she noticed how often they skipped it, much to her Father's disdain and brother's disapproval.

The next friend she made was a elegant girl called Yukiko Kanzaki. Chiriko first started speaking to her, because she noticed how she always seemed stressed and tired. It didn't take long for Yukiko to reveal that she was under intense pressure from her father to do well, and had started acting out and sneaking off to clubs to rebel. A crazy strict father was something Chiriko could relate to, so they bonded over that.

It was towards the end of the year when Chiriko first noticed Karma Akabane, a red haired boy in D class. She recognized the name from the top-ten lists in test results.

He was always alone. He never really spoke to anybody in class unless it was to argue with the teacher, when he showed up to class, and was constantly wandering around the school by himself like a lost cat, an indifferent expression on his face. A normal person would just leave him too it, but Chiriko was far more interfering than a normal person.

 _What if he's lonely? He might want friends but he's secretly too shy to make them? He might be going through a tough time or something?_

These were the types of things Chiriko often thought about people. She was the type of person who was always looking to help, whether it was a good idea or not.

So, that was how, one cold November morning not long before Christmas break, Chiriko walked up to the roof of the school, were she was sure the red haired boy would be. Sure enough, when she opened the door, there was Karma Akabane, lounging across the hard stone floor, as if he were in a warm comfortable bed, not a cold rooftop.

"Um. Excuse me?" Chiriko said, to get his attention. Karma opened one eye, revealing an amber orb. He glanced over at Chiriko with a half smirk on his face.

"Oh. If it isn't my stalker." Akabane said, his mouth widening slightly to reveal fang-like canines. He turned to face her more fully. "You've been watching me for a couple of days at this point- what is it now, a love confession?"

"No!" Chiriko spluttered, feeling her cheeks redden slightly- _He'd noticed her? It wasn't like she was really stalking him, anyway!_ "And I wasn't stalking you! You must be imagining things."

"Whatever you say." Karma replied, still with that infuriating half-smirk on his face as if he knew all her secrets. He sat up properly now, facing her. "So. What is it that you want?"

"I just wanted to eat lunch here. Because the view's nice." Chiriko said, with a friendly smile. Saying _I decided to sit with you because you have no friends_ sounded a little too patronizing. She walked closer to him, and sat down opposite, she tried not to be put off by Akabane's attitude. She knew a lot of insecure people could be harsh at first, as a defense against being hurt. "Akabane, right? I'm Chiroko Asano. But you can just call me Chiroko."

"Of course I already know who you are." Karma replied, rolling his eyes. His expression darkened, and their was anger behind his amber eyes, although his smirk didn't falter. "And the answer's no."

"No?" Chiriko said, confused. She hasn't asked a question, had she? Karma narrowed his eyes.

"No, I don't want to be another one of your pity-cases, Chiriko Asano-san." Karma said, in a low voice. He was staring at Chiriko as if he could see through her soul. "I've seen you around, Chiriko, you seem drawn to people you view as more pathetic than yourself- Stupid delinquents, girls with low-self esteem and failing grades. The poor little loner." He hissed, then grinned sadistically before adding. "It's pretty pathetic, if you ask me. You feed of their life problems so you feel better about your own."

Chiriko's Amethyst eyes widened in shock as he took in his words, then a scowl formed on her face. She stood up, putting her hands on her hips. "That's not true! I view them as friends, and I don't think they're pathetic at all!" She shouted at him- had he really interpreted her that way? "I don't think you're pathetic either, if that's what you think!"

Karma cocked his head to the side. "Everyone says you two are opposites, but you and your brother are quite similar, you know. The only difference is that he pushes the 'undesirables' away to make himself feel better, while you keep them close to boost your own self-esteem." He got up, and slowly walked over to Chiriko. A dangerous aura seemed to radiate off him, and Chiriko instinctively took a step back, bumping into the wall.

Karma loomed over her, effectively trapping her. He grabbed her wrists, pinning her to the wall. For one terrible moment, Chiriko thought he was actually going to try and hurt her. She realised that she wouldn't be able to fight back, or even call for help. An icy cold dread settled in the pit of her stomach. But instead of of hitting her, Karma just leaned forward, closer to her, and hissed into her ear.

"Sorry. I'm not interested in fake nice girls." Chiroko flinched away as she felt his teeth graze the lobe of her ear, but the next thing she knew he had let go of her, and walked away. She heard the door slam.

Chiriko sunk to her knees once he had left, still feeling shaken. Her cheeks burned in humiliation. Karma had made her feel like an idiot.

"Jerk." She muttered to herself, rubbing her wrists. But part of her was still worried about him, as absurd as that sounded.

* * *

"I heard you were with Karma Akabane today." Gakushuu had said to her, as they walked home from school together that day. Chiriko didn't even bother to question how her brother seemed to more or less know everything about whatever went on in the school. She had decided he must either have spies everywhere or had worked out how to hack into the school camera security system. Probably the latter.

"Yeah, what of it?" Chiriko replied, dejectedly. She was still annoyed about her confrontation of him.

"Don't get involved with him." Gakushuu commanded, glancing at her sideways with amethyst eyes that matched her own.

"Eh? I thought you wanted me to have friends with better grades?" Chiriko replied, although she couldn't ever see herself and Akabane becoming friends in the foreseeable future.

"I'm serious about this." Gakushuu said firmly, which Chiriko didn't find particularly striking, because he was serious about pretty much everything. "That guy's bad news. He's dangerous. He fights for fun. You will just get hurt."

Chiriko felt a rare rush of affection for her twin. _Ah. He actually cares. How sweet._ She skipped ahead, smiling slightly.

"Don't worry. He doesn't seem to like me much anyway." Chiriko said, she turned back to look at her brother. "I'm going to cook your favorite meal tonight, okay?"

A few weeks later, Gakushuu no longer had to worry about Chiriko befriending Karma. He got in some big fight with the number one pupil of A class, and got himself suspended until the next year, were he would be shunted to E class. Chiriko saw the upperclassman limping around school with an arm in a cast, and head bandaged, and she couldn't help but agree with her brother for once. _Karma was bad news. He's dangerous._

* * *

"In light of your grades and attitude, I have no choice to put you in E class. I'm sure you'll fit in perfectly, Asano- _san_." The Chairman told Chiriko the day after she received her results on finals that February. They were stood in his office, her Father sat in his desk, Chiriko stood opposite with Gakushuu by her side. She didn't even flinch- she had been expecting this. Her father and brother had spent the whole year saying " _If you keep this up you'll be sent to E class!"_ As if that were the worst thing in the world. Compared to loosing your mother, and having to live with a psychopath father and control-freak brother, this was nothing.

"I'm sure I will. I hear the view from the E class building is really quite lovely. I look forward to going." Chiriko said, glaring straight ahead at her father, refusing to show any signs that she was bothered. She saw Asano smirk and stifle a laugh from the corner of her eye.

"And you, Asano- _kun_. It really highlights how incompetent you are as a leader that you couldn't even prevent your own own sister from becoming a worthless outcast. I delegated you the task of raising her grades to a standard as high as your own, but you couldn't even raise them to the point of being average." The Chairman said to Gakushuu. The boy flinched slightly, and Chiriko felt a sudden rush of guilt for being so lax in her studies at her brother's expense. Gakushuu forced himself to maintain his polite smile.

"Perhaps Chiriko's current situation highlights how incompetent you are as a father." Gakushu replied bitingly. This father and son had a strange relationship. They had no qualms about slinging back and forth hurtful words, dressed up with polite speech. The Chairman paused for a moment before answering.

"Don't be mistaken. I may technically be your father, but I am your Chairman first and foremost, and I can not give any pupils more help than others, regardless if their related to me or not." Their father said. "In short, both of you failed to reach your goals; Asano, you aren't fit to be a leader, and Chiriko, at your current state you have less value than a human."

"Well you aren't fit to be a father! All you are to me is a sperm-donor!" Chiriko hissed, turning on her heel to leave, filled with anger. She always acted as if it didn't bother her, but constantly being called a worthless failure by her own father made the girl feel like trash. And hearing him say it to her brother only made it worse. She wondered how Gakushuu felt being berated, was he used to it by now, or did it still hurt?

 _Oh well. Maybe E class would be better, far-away from her Father and almost the entire school. Plus the treck up there would probably make her super fit!_ Then Chiriko remembered Karma Akabane was due to be in E class, and suddenly she felt even worse.

* * *

 **I didn't want Karma and Chiriko to get along at first, because I like stories were people go from enemies-friends-lovers. Karma seems harsh (probs OOC) But this is set in 2nd year before he meets Korosensei and becomes a little nicer.**

 **Besides, what he was saying isn't completely false, because Chiriko is attracted to miserable/lonely/vulnderable people, because helping them means she doesn't have to face her own emotional problems. She compulsively takes care of others because she lacks control and doesn't know how to care for herself in her own life (eg she neglects her studies and stuff). I didn't want to make her a Mary-sue, so she isn't some angel, and she does mess up a lot.**

 **Review for more!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Thank you for all the reviews xxx**

* * *

Gakuhou Asano glared down at his son and daughter's report cards. They were like the exact opposite of each other; He made sure his employers knew _not_ to go lightly on Chiriko and Gakushuu just because they were his children, and reading Chiriko's report card, he could see they had clearly took his words to heart. Asano-kun's teachers gushed about how he was ' _Exceptionally talented and advanced young man who endevours to improve both himself and his peers.'_ While Chiriko's teacher complained that she was ' _Unmotivated and lazy about anything academic. Easily distracted. Refuses to engage with the school's philosophy. Seems to waste her time on frivolous pursuits over raising her grades._ ' The only subjects she had done well in were home ec, PE, and morality.

This was unacceptable.

He admitted, he hadn't handled Chiriko well enough when she first arrived- Perhaps he had grown too used to having a child who was completely obedient to him like Gakushuu, so he didn't deal with a willfully disobedient child like Chiriko well. He had been too lax. He had allowed her to disregard all his teachings. Even being thrown into E class wasn't enough to change her ways.

No more. He would make his daughter desire strength. But to do that, he would have to _teach_ her to despise weakness. Her stay in E class would have to be painful. He'd make sure she suffered there, so she'd finally learn to be strong, and then fight her way out from the bottom tooth and nail.

 _It was for her own good._

* * *

"This is the first day of your last year of middle school. It will only get more difficult from now on- All of you should feel proud of making it here this far. You are part of the elite" The elderly school spokesperson said, before adding with a nasty grin. "Unless of course you've ended up in E class."

A ripple cruel snickers echoed around the assembly hall as the other _normal_ pupils turned to glare at the pariahs in E class. The first day as outcasts and they were already being mocked. The reaction of E class- Chiriko's new classmates- was mixed; Many of them stared down at their shoes, looks of shame burning in their eyes, others glared straight back at the main school- Hazama was pulling a particularly scary face, and Terasaka looked as though he wanted to murder somebody.

Chiriko stared up at the security camera above the stage- The one she knew the Chairman was watching the assembly through. She smiled up, refusing to show that him putting her in E class bothered her in any way. She wouldn't contribute to his education philosophy by acting like a miserable creature as an E class member was supposed to. He wasn't her father any more- he was her enemy.

She tuned out the rest of the assembly, ignoring all the Spokeperson's jabs at E class ( _She'd heard that all break from Gakushuu and the Chairman anyway, nothing new)._ Instead, tried to think positive... At least in E class she'd be away from this building with it's stifiling atmosphere. Even though he was seldom around, the Chairman seemed to control everything here.

* * *

The E class seemed to exude gloom. Even on the very first day, as the pupils milled in they had defeated looks in their eyes. They were already exhausted too- The long walk up the hill under the glare of the sun was enough to make anybody swelter. Sports had always been one of Chiriko's best lessons, and even she was panting by the time she made it to the classroom. Kanzaki was Even worse than Chiriko- She was completely fatigued. Kanzaki had been pretty much silent for the entire way up- Chiriko had heard Yukiko's father yelling at her when she knocked for the dark haired girl this morning. Yukiko hadn't been allowed out the house for the whole break between second and third year, her father had kept her under lock and key.

When Chiriko had first saw her this morning, Yukiko had clearly lost weight and gotten paler, her blond dip-dye had been chopped of the end of her hair. Chiriko had been frantically worried, of course, but Yukiko met all her concerns with a vaguely polite smile. Terasaka and his gang had opted to skip the first day of class because they were too pissed off after the very first assembly.

The building itself was a decrepit old shack with holes in the roof and worn down wooden floors. Most of the pupils looked at it despairingly.

"Man, we'll be lucky if we don't fall through." A blond girl named Rio Nakamura complained, rolling her eyes at the site of the rotting wood.

The pupils all filed into the classroom, and at the front stood a dark haired young woman who's smile was too bright for the current mood.

"Good morning everyone! My name is Aguri Yukimura- but that's Yukimura-Sensei to you!" She said brightly. The lady was wearing a lab coat, and a very _interesting_ T-shirt with a cartoon banana on it. "I look forward to getting to know you all! and I'm happy to be your teacher."

It was like a breath of fresh air. Chiriko was suddenly grateful that at least their teacher wasn't horrible, even if everything else was. Most of the rest of the class seemed to share the same sentiments.

"Good morning Yukimura-Sensei." The class chorused in unison.

* * *

No matter how hard Yukimura-Sensei tried, being in 3-E was hard. The textsbooks were outdated and falling apart, they had no access to computer labs like the rest of the school, just getting to class took an exhausting amount of time, everything was old and broken. At first people tried to be cheerful, but when every little thing seems to be against you, you're quickly worn down.

Chiriko banded together with Isogai and Kataoka- the two recently elected class-reps, and they attempted to make the E class more habitable. Chiriko hated seeing her classmates so down, and the other two felt the same way, so they started doing repairs and decorations, roping people in to help.

On the very first week, they started by working on the main door which had been broken off it's hinges, and repainting some of the walls, and cleaning the place up in general. It was actually quite fun- Yukirmura-Sensei had to leave to go to her second job (Some kind of science thing), so just the kids were left. Isogai was a good leader, so he managed to convince a lot of people to stay behind and help.

Terasaka, who by some myrical agreed to help (It may have something to do with Chiriko threatening not to bring him lunch any more), and did most of the heavy lifting along with Yoshida and Murmatsu. Hazama 'helped' by reading a book nearby to make sure they didn't do anything too stupid (or so she said). Isogai and a couple of other boys painted the walls along with Sugoya, who it turned out was actually quite an apt artist. The other students were dotted around, cleaning, or doing various jobs.

Chiriko planting some flowers alongside and blue-haired boy named Nagisa. At least, she thought it was a boy. He had long blue hair tied in a pony tail. His delicate features and big blue eyes made him prettier than most of the girl's Chiriko knew.

"Shiota-kun, right?" Chiriko said with a smile, as they dug some holes. This was the first time she spoke to him properly. The boy looked at her.

"You can just call me Nagisa. I kind of prefer it." He said, a slight awkwardness to his tone. _Does he not like his surname? I can relate to that._ "You're Chiriko Asano, right?"

Of course he knew her name- it felt like being the principle's daughter and the star pupil's sister meant everyone did.

"That's me. Just call me Chiriko." She said, with a casual smile. She glanced at the other. "Your hair sure is long."

The boy laughed uncomfortably. "Yeah, well... I'm not allowed to cut it." He said, with a polite smile on his face that looked slightly forced. Chiriko cocked her head to the side, curiously.

"Not allowed to cut it..?" She started to say, being her usual prying self, when suddenly, an almighty crash was heard from nearby, followed by a string of swearwords. "Damnit- what's Terasaka done now!"

Chiriko got up and rushed over, to see Terasaka and Yoshida yelling at each other over who's fault it was they had dropped a plank of wood. "I ought to smash your heads together!" The girl tsk'd, charging between them.

* * *

When they finally finished, despite all their mishaps, the hut actually looked.. alright (At least considering the work was done by a bunch of unskilled teenagers). The classroom was a little cleaner, a little nicer. The class looked at their handiwork, satisfied- it had been hard work, but had been worth it. It felt as if they had accomplished something.

"Well done everyone." Class-rep Isogai said, with a large grin on his face, He was the type of guy who made people feel good about themselves- a natural leader. "We should all be proud of ourselves."

And people did feel proud, if only a little, that they had accomplished something. Chiriko walked home with a large grin on her face, and for the first time since entering her father's school, she was actually looking forwards to class tomorrow.

* * *

 _ **E Class Scum Here!**_

The ugly red paint was scrawled across their building. Everyone noticed it as soon as they arrived at the school building. Nobody knew who the vandal was, not that anyone with any power in the school would care. The Flowers were squashed, and one of the windows were smashed.

Chiriko stopped in her tracks when she saw it. All her pride from yesterday melted away to horror, and then anger. Her classmates were reacting in a similar way; Some angry like Terasaka and his gang, others upset like Hinao and Kanzaki. But everyone felt a sense of defeat. As if they had been reminded of their proper place. Chiriko forced a smile.

"Come on- let's not be disheartened by some silly vandalism from some immature idiot." Chiriko said, addressing the class. Isogai joined in.

"Right- this wont take long to clean up, and then it'll be as good as new." The class rep beamed, not showing any of his own sadness. The class continues to look disheartened.

"What's even the point anymore?" Terasaka growled, pushing past Isogai with a scowl on his face. "We _are_ E class scum. We can dress it up all we want, but that's all society will ever see us as."

He seemed to be echoing the sentiments of a lot of the class. They hadn't even been here two weeks yet, but its easy to be worn down when you're constantly stigmatized.

"We're not scum, Terasaka- You aren't, I'm not, non of us are. Don't let them tell us otherwise!" Chiriko called after him, but it seemed to fall on deaf ears. She felt frustrated with herself- she was unable to lift her classmates spirits! What use was she if she couldn't even make people happy? Everyone was suffering and she wasn't even helpful!

Yukirmura-Sensei was horrified when she saw the vandalism. She set about helping to clean it up herself. She was such a sweet lady, always so enthusiastic, even when the class' self esteem was in the dumps. She was laid back enough that she didn't mind when the class teased her abut her weird clothing tastes, but seriuos enough that she did her best to teach them. Chiriko couldn't help but notice that despite her encouraging smile she seemed tired- working two jobs must be tough. She wondered if her teacher had enough time to sleep.

* * *

That weekend, Chiriko was once again receiving tutoring from her brother. He had personally decided that neither of them were getting any sleep until she had memories all the SUVAT equations. He was clearly just as brutal as their father! It was already night time, the full-mon hung eerily in the night's sky, shining down on them as they sat opposite each other, with a mountain of paper-work in between.

"Focus!" Gakushuu chided, rapping his pencil down on his desk to get her attention when she started doodling again. "This concept really isn't all that difficult if you'd just _pay attention._ "

"I'm too tired!" Chiriko complained. Gakushuu rolled his amethyst eyes.

"You can sleep when you've learnt your physics- honestly, you're impossible- don't you want to get out of E class?" The boy said, massaging his temples. "Now, let's run through them again- "

"- You look tired." Chiriko interjected, a concerned look on her face. "Did you pull an all-nighter last night again? You know that isn't healthy. Sleep-deprivation will make you ill."

"The Chairman wanted me to sort some funding for the school trip- Look we're not talking about that! We're talking about physics, stop changing the subject." Gakushuu said, frustration edging into his voice. He circled the work. "Now- answer these questions and we'll see if you've improved."

"You don't have to do everything he says, you know. Don't let our father work you into an early grave." Chiriko said, now in her 'concerned' sister mode, ignoring the work in front of her. "He's always cold to you, yet you're always working yourself to the bone trying to impress him because what? Because he's you're father? You know you're throwing your whole childhood away."

Gakushuu let out a irritated growl, his eyes flaring with anger. For a moment it looked as if he were about to shout. But then he breathed in, and composed himself. A cold neutral expression was on his face.

"You're one to talk, hypocrite."

Chiriko looked at him, confused. "What do you mean?"

"You threw your future away looking after our mother. You skipped school for her sake- that's probably why you're so inept. I know that much." Gakushuu said, crossing his arms. Chiriko stared at him for a moment, shocked. That was harsh even for him- she wondered if sleep deprivation and frustration had anything to do with it. She realised that was the first time he'd properly heard Gakushuu mention their mother since the funeral. Just thinking about her still brought tears to the girls eyes. She blinked them back.

She wanted to shout at her brother for even comparing working yourself to the bone to please a megalomaniac to caring for somebody who was genuinely sick. But instead she just swallowed and said.

"She's your mother too, you know."

"Only in name." Gakushuu bit back quickly. Chiriko's amethyst eyes widened, not expecting the resentment in her voice.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Her brother's expression twisted into a grimace. "I just think that somebody who leaves you when you're seven and never bothers to see you again isn't much of a mother." He said bitterly, his expression hard. Chiriko stared at him- _Was that how her brother really saw it? That he was being abandoned?_

She couldn't help the tears now. She opened her mouth to say something, when suddenly, a flash of silver caught her eye. She looked up at the moon- or at least, where the moon used to be. Now there was just crumbled remains. Asano seemed to have noticed too. He rushed to the window- forgetting the argument and the physics revision.

"The moon!" He cried, staring up at the broken silvery remains of earth's natural satellite. "It's been destroyed! Is it a meteor? What's going on?"

Chiriko rushed to the window next to him. She couldn't believe her eyes.

Things only got stranger from there.

* * *

 **Sorry if this chapter is boring, I just wanted to do 1 chapter on pre-Korosensei E class, so show how sad it is, and write Aguri.**

 **Gakushuu and Chiriko's relationship is still super-messed up, I tried to touch on their issues a little bit in this chapter. Next chapter- Korosensei!**

 **Review for more pls x**


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